>"SUNSET WATCH OUT!"
>Vaulting over a small sand dune, you take cover as a bright red laser shoots past where you were standing moments ago.
>Bracing yourself against the wall, there's a bright blinding light to the left of you.
>Looking over, you start hyperventilating at the sight of a giant hole of glass only inches from your head.
>Oh dear Celestia...
>Peeking out, you can only surmise the possibilities as to what kind of Equestrian magic just made the creature standing a few yards away a reality.
>Getting into a fight with a creature made of pure beach trash and scrap metal was not really on your agenda today.
>Applejack grabs a wood bench and smashes it against the monster in an attempt to draw its attention.
>Unfortunately for her, the bench breaks apart with no signs of any actual damage on the strange junk monster.
>Slowly turning its head, the two glowing eyes simply stare right at her. Seemingly offended that she thought that could even work, or that she even try.
>The cowgirl sheepishly steps back with a huge nervous grin on her face.
>"Uh... hehe, sorry?"
>Raising its arms, the thing lets out a loud roar that nearly blows Applejack off her feet.
>Bracing herself, a rainbow blur zooms in and sweeps her away as the monster slams its limbs against the floor leaving a large crater in the ground.
>"I gotcha!" Rainbow declares with Applejack in her arms.
>Stopping just beyond you, she sets the latter down.
>"What are we supposed to do against something like that?"
>"Maybe we should just let the police handle this..." a voice mumbles.
>Looking around, you, Applejack and Rainbow try to find the source of the voice when the sand shifts below your feet.
>"Fluttershy?"
>"Mmhmm..."
>Rainbow facepalms, "Remind me what the plan was again?"
"I- Twilight said we're supposed to keep it distracted until she and Rarity get here."
>"For how long? That thing is shooting lasers now!"
"You don't think I know that?!" you retort, pointing at a mound of glass.
>There's another roar as the trash creature resumes its rampage across the beach.
>Random citizens panic and run as the beast slowly looms towards whatever destination its walking towards.
>Now is one of those moments where you had a power that could actually help in a fight. What are you going to do, read its mind to death?
>And today was supposed to be a relaxing one too...
>"AIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAI!"
>On the pier, Pinkie Pie lets out a battle cry and starts pelting the monster with sugary sweets.
>The 'sugar bombs' glow momentarily before exploding in a burst of pink confetti.
>"Alright!"
>"Y'all can do it Pinkie!"
>With a determined face, Pinkie Pie doesn't stop the bombardment until she runs out of treats and all is silent.
>You and the others let out a sigh of relief as Pinkie salutes, only for a deep rumbling to nearly shake all of you off-balance.
>A large arm made of seaweed and various debris latches onto one the pier's supports and starts shaking it.
>To your collective horror, the smoke finally clears and the monster looks no worse for ware.
>Pinkie goes wide-eyed as the monsters broken television 'face' begins glowing red once again.
>"Ah, Pinkie Pie its face!"
>Thinking quickly, she leaps from her spot on the pier down onto the beach just as the beam smashes into the wooden railing and destroys it.
>Where is Twilight and Rarity?!
>"Hold on girls!" a voice calls out.
>Speak of the devil!
>"Come on girls!"
>The seven of you quickly gather together and hold hands, letting the magic of Friendship flow through you all.
>You can feel the magic course through your bodies as your outfits change, hair grows longer, and ears sprout at the top of your heads.
>In the corner of your eye, you notice the creatures face glow once more.
"Let's do it!"
>A loud boom is heard as a rainbow colored beam flies straight at the monster.
>Moving to the side, the beam strikes the right arm.
>For a brief moment, you wonder if the beam did anything at all when suddenly it falls apart piece by piece into a harmless pile.
>The monster roars in what you can only imagine is horror as it tries to reattach its broken 'arm'.
>As you and the others prepare to fire another blast of concentrated magic, the trash monster doesn't fail to notice. Instead, it leans forward prepared to take you seven head on.
>Two opposing rays of light fly into each other and initiating a struggle to overpower one another.
>While you and your friends struggle to maintain focus as the beams fight for dominance, the sky around you darkens and begins clouding over.
>Eventually both attacks implode sending your group onto the ground.
>"Uh..."
>"Whoa..."
>Looking up, thick dark clouds swirl into a vortex of dark blue clouds with red lightning crackling in between.
>Suddenly a bright flash blinds you as you hear someone screaming followed by a small violent explosion of sand.
>"Was... was that supposed to happen?" Applejack asks.
>Rainbow only shrugs as you help Twilight up.
>You've never seen magic react like that before.
>The monster growls, but otherwise doesn't move as you all look at the freshly dug out crater between you.
>It looks like someone just dropped a bomb.
>Yet somehow all of you are relatively fine.
>Moments go by and the clouds dissipate, returning the sky back to its normal bright blue color.
>You think you can see a glint of light down in the crater, but before you can even think much of it, the monster on the other side roars.
>To your amazement, the monster seems to be fleeing.
>"After it girls!" Twilight yells out.
>Running around the crater, a short chase ensues as the monster leads you past the pier and towards the rocky cliffs that mark the end of the beach.
>Unable to climb the tall rock face, it seems to decide to take its chances in the ocean as the mass of trash makes its way towards the water.
>Without wasting a beat, you and the girls grab hands once again, but by the time the magic begins coming together the monster has already fled into the safety of the ocean depths.
>"Is it... is it gone?"
"For now."
>"Just what was that thing?" Rarity asks, "It looked absolutely disgusting!"
"It was probably some Equestrian magic run rampant again."
>"I was thinking that too; Applejack and I had a run in with some plants that got exposed to some a few months ago."
>"Yeah, but ah don't think water is gonna do much against *that*." the cowgirl retorts.
>Pinkie Pie flops down onto the sand and frowns, "So what do we do?"
"What can we do? We can't follow it, and I don't really feel comfortable even trying."
>"Sunset's right. It wouldn't be smart to try and chase it into the depths of the water this far away from any help."
>"So what? We just wait until it shows up again?"
>You shrug.
"What choice do we have?"
>"Ah guess it couldn't hurt. It is summer after all, we'll just have to be ready when it does show up though."
>Rarity flips her hair to the side, "Well I don't know about you darling, but I think this would be a wonderful opportunity to work on my tan."
>"I've always wanted to have a beach camp out!" Pinkie Pie says excitedly. "Ooh I'll get some more snacks!"
>Twilight walks up to you, "The problem is we don't know how long that's going to take? For all we know its not even going to show up aga- Sunset?"
>You look towards the giant hole in the sand further down the beach.
>Jogging towards it, Twilight follows you as you stop just at the edge.
>"What is it?"
"I thought I saw something down there before the monster ran away."
>"Down there?"
"Yeah. Did you notice the weird stuff that was happening before this crater showed up?"
>"Now that you mention it, I did notice a uniqueness to the event that I don't recall ever happening before whenever we used our powers together."
>Scanning the sandy floor, you don't really notice anything out of the ordinary though.
>And for some reason no signs of whatever made an impact of this size.
>Huh...
>Weird.
>"Maybe it was just a side effect of the two attacks?"
>Standing up, you scratch your head.
"Maybe, but I don't see anything besides sand. You would think with an explosion like that at least some of the sand would be scorched or turned to glass."
>"Hey Sunset! Pinkie brought a tent, help us set it up!" Rainbow calls out to you.
"I'll be right there!"
>Giving the crater one last glance, you and Twilight run off to your friends, not noticing the sand move slightly before going still.
 
>A few hours have gone by and the sun has finally started to set.
>Despite waiting for the monster to show its face once more, nothing seems to have come of it since the initial attack earlier.
>So otherwise it was just another day at the beach, albeit one on a mostly vacant one.
>People trickled in little by little, but it hardly reached the same peak as it did earlier in the day.
>A couple of police cruisers showed up, as well as a news van, but once it became apparent that there were no signs of monsters they quickly left.
>Apparently weird things have been happening a lot in Canterlot lately like reports of giant flying horses and rainbows of light popping up all over town.
>Not that you or your friends would know *anything* about that of course.
>"Timber, we found you under the desk inside lifeguard tower."
>"I told you, I was calling for help Twilight."
>"By hugging a rescue can?"
>"I was looking for my uh... my cellphone that I dropped and you startled me so I had to protect myself!"
>You roll your eyes at Timber Spruce's attempt at trying to preserve his masculinity.
>Sticking another marshmallow into the bonfire Applejack made, you can't help but think on how irritating Twilight's boyfriend has gotten ever since he got that job as a lifeguard.
>When you first met, he seemed like a nice guy but now... well let's just say Timber Spruce is really one of those individuals who you can really only take in small doses.
>But if he makes Twilight happy you won't complain.
>Openly at least.
>"Hey uh Twi, where did you park by the way?"
>"At the public lot why?"
>"You might want to move it to the reserved space for lifeguards. Just in case someone gets the bright idea of breaking into your car."
>Twilight smiles, "Aw, that's thoughtful of you. Are you sure its okay?"
>"Yeah, I'm cool with the other lifeguards." he says with a coy grin. "I'll go with you if you want."
>Ugh...
>"My keys are in my ba- oh Sunset could you hand me my keys?"
"You know what, I could use a walk. I'll do it."
>"Oh, alright. Thanks Sunset."
>"Private parking is over by the information center." Timber says pointing in the direction of the building not at all bothering to get up.
>You and Applejack share a look that Timber either ignores or is ignorant of.
>"Ah'll go with you."
>"Thanks Applejack."
>Grabbing the keys out of Twilight's bag, you and Applejack quickly walk away from the rest of the group.
>"Couldn't stand them either huh?"
"Timber's a nice guy and all but there's only so much one can take before you want to-"
>"Bash his head in with a two-by-four?"
>You chuckle.
"Applejack that's really bad."
>"Would make me feel better."
>"Hey Applejack! Sunset! Wait a second."
>Turning around, you see Twilight running after you two.
>"What is it Twi?"
"Something wrong?"
>She holds up a small red flyer that reads 'Canterlot Lifeguard' in bold black print.
>"Timber forgot to mention I needed to have one of these on the dashboard."
>Applejack shakes her head.
>"Of course he did." she says reaching for the slip.
>"Actually since I'm already here, I might as well come with you."
"What about Timber?"
>"Oh he'll be fine without me for a little while."
>Peeking over her shoulder, Timber Spruce is telling Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rarity some sort of joke that only he's laughing at.
>The others just have painful looks on their faces.
>But will the others be fine by the time you get back?
>Shrugging, the three of you head off to the vehicles.
>Unlocking Twilight's car, you hand her the keys but she declines.
>"I trust you."
"You sure?"
>Twilight nods her head.
>Entering the driver's seat, you shut the door when a thought pops in your head.
>'Its the driving safety rhyme, start your trip with seat belt tim-'
>No... no no no no.
>None of that. You already passed your driving test.
>Placing your hands at nine and three, you adjust your mirror to see things clearer and check your engine light to make sure the trips al-
>Shaking your head, you try and ignore the rhyming song Fluttershy hammered into your brain when you were learning to drive.
>"Sunset is something wrong? You look agitated."
"Just thought of something. Its nothing."
>"Oh."
>Because Twilight parked near the dividing line between the beach and lot, you back the car up and drive around the empty parking lot.
"Which building is it?"
>"That tall one over there." Applejack points from the back seat.
>With it being so dark its difficult to find the actual road out. But you can't help but feel a bit uneasy with the lack of visibility.
"You think they would get some more street lights around. Its almost pitch black over here."
>"Sunset, you should really be paying attention ahead of you more."
"I think we're fine Twilight, its not like there's anything in fron-"
>Suddenly a large figure walks in front of your headlights.
>Oh shi-!
>The only thought that goes through your mind is the thought of the trash monster.
>While Twilight and Applejack both scream, your fight or flight instincts kick in.
>Slamming the gas pedal, you drive the car into the monster knocking it down and running over it.
>*BAM* *THUMP* *THUMP* *THUMP*
>You spin the car around and slam the breaks, fully prepared to run it over again but a chill runs down your spine.
>Wordlessly, you look at Twilight and Applejack who just stare out the front window with shocked expressions frozen on their faces.
>With the headlights focused on the 'monster', a creeping realization dawns upon all of you.
>That wasn't a monster...
>You can clearly see two human legs sticking into the light from the darkness.
>And it doesn't look they're moving...
>Please, let that be a a mannequin from one of the shops.
>Please Celestia let that be just a mannequin.
>Twilight starts freaking out, "Oh my god. That wasn't a person was it?!"
 
"Ugh..."
>Your entire body hurts... really... really bad.
>Writhing in agony, you wince as a sharp pain in your front flares up.
>Did someone get the name of that... whatever it was?
>"OhdearCelestiaOhdearCelestiaOhdearCelestiaOhdearCelestia!" someone frantically yells. "Please don't be dead! PLEASE don't be dead!"
>"Sunset what did you do?!" another voice cries out.
>"He just came out of nowhere!"
>"This is bad! This is soooo bad!"
>"Don't just stand their, someone call 9-1-1!" a third deeper voice says.
>"My phone's at the camp!"
>"So is mine!"
>"Are you serious?! No one has a phone right now?!"
>Judging by the rapid breathing, one of them is clearly having some kind of panic attack,"Why was he all alone out here in the middle of a parking lot?! Doesn't he know dangerous that is?!"
>"Sunset y'all need to-"
>So someone ran you over.
>Well... that explains a bit.
>Oh geeze, everything feels numb below your... actually yeah, everything feels numb.
>"C'mon, ah think he's still breathing!"
>"Twilight go get the others!"
>Two pairs of hands grab your ankles and pull, dragging you along the cold hard floor.
>"W-what in the heck is he wearing?"
>You want to make a witty reply but nothing seems to work right now and you feel really really sleepy.
>It gets hard to think... coherent... things...
>Only two words seem to really stick out though:
>Goddamn it.
 
>Twilight and the others run up as you and Applejack just stare at the still body on the ground.
>"Holy crap what did you three do?!" Timber shouts. "Did you just kill someone?"
"Shout it out for the whole world to hear."
>"Rarity call 9-1-"
>"Oh no, we are not calling anyone!"
>"Timber what are you talking about?!"
>Twilight's boyfriend starts pacing about.
>"We just found him like this! A homeless guy! Yeah that's it."
>You and your friends all share a look of utter disbelief.
>Rainbow asks Twilight the very question you all are thinking right now, "Twilight, is this guy serious?"
>"Don't worry babe, I got you covered. I got some shovels in the storage locker give me five minutes and I'll be right back!"
>Before any of you can say a word, Timber runs off into the night.
>"Twi, no offense. But I think Timber may have a few screws loose."
>Twilight pokes a finger into Applejack's chest, "Don't joke about that. This is a really stressful situation."
"How do you think I feel? I'm the one that rammed into him!"
>Pinkie pokes the man's foot with one of the sticks you used for marshmallows, "Is he...? Is he dead?"
>"Pinkie!"
"Yes Pinkie Pie, considering the fact he stopped moving I think he's dead."
>Fluttershy whimpers into Rarity's arm.
>"Oh man..."
>"Darling, are you alright?"
"No... but what are we going to do?"
>"We'll have to talk to the police."
"That's what I'm afraid of though. Remember where I'm from?"
>Six collective lightbulbs go off.
"They're going to ask a lot of questions that I'm pretty sure will involve asking where I'm from."
>Applejack crosses her arms, "Now I ain't one fer being dishonest, but can't you lie?"
"Even if I lie, they'll probably investigate my background anyway. Best case scenario is that they'll only find info on this world's Sunset only to wonder why they're two of us."
>"Well we always did wonder if we'd ever meet the other you." Rainbow mutters offhandedly.
>"RAINBOW!"
>"We could always blame the monster that showed up earlier?" Pinkie suggests. "There were other people who saw it."
>"Maybe..."
"We can't let them discover the portal to Equestria that's for sure."
>Timber's suggestion doesn't sound so bad after all...
>"Um... girls?"
"What is it Applejack?"
>"Ah think something much worse than a car hit him." she says leaning over the body.
>"Whatever do you mean?"
>"Rarity, could you give us some light?"
>Holding her phone in flashlight mode, she hovers it over.
>To your shock, Applejack isn't wrong. Now that you have a better look, this man looks far from homeless. In fact, he looks like he's wearing some kind of... armor?
>His body is covered in scorch marks and dried blood from what looks like to be serious burns and cuts.
>Metal plates are dented, cloth is ripped and torn.
>Almost like this person was fighting for their life. Something that looks way beyond a simple car collision could do.
>"I wonder what this guy was doing all alone in the middle of the night to look like this?"
>"And why is he dressed so... strangely? It looks like his outfit has clearly seen better days."
>"Um... no offense guys, but this guy is still dead. D-E-A-D, dead."
"No Dash, we have not forgotten."
>But just who is he?
>"Hey what's this?"
>Pinkie holds up a small white object.
 
>"What is that?"
>You let out a frustrated groan.
"You know, we're getting a lot of questions but not a lot of answers."
>Fluttershy touches your shoulder, "Sunset, you need to calm down."
"Calm down? CALM DOWN? FLUTTERSHY I JUST KILLED SOMEONE!"
>"Sunset!"
>Fluttershy hides behind an angry Rarity and Rainbow Dash. Seeing her cower behind your friends instantly fills you with regret.
"I... I'm sorry Fluttershy. I didn't mean to yell at you. Look, lets just call the police and get this settled..."
>As your talking, Pinkie Pie takes the thing in her hand and shakes it.
>A small rattling noise comes from it, but otherwise it doesn't do anything.
>Taking one of the protruding pieces in between her fingers, she pulls on it and separates it. Letting go, the piece immediately flies back to its original position.
>"Huh..."
>Repeating the process, she leans on Twilight's car holding the two pieces with a puzzled expression.
>"Pinkie would you quit messing around with that?" Twilight asks.
>"Sorry Twi-Tw-whoops!"
>Without warning, Pinkie's trips and accidentally tosses the white object into the air.
"Pinkie be careful!"
>Using her geode, Twilight grabs the object in a purple aura with her telekinesis.
>And to your collective amazement, it reacts to it.
>Its subtle, but the shell moves slightly in the aura.
"Twilight are you doing that?"
>"No. Its doing it by itself."
>A blue symbol on the front dimly glows like on one of those old computer displays before becoming brighter.
>The white pieces behind the ball-like center begin twisting around as the front open and closes before twisting the opposite direction.
>When the motions stop, the 'eye' looks around.
>"Um... hi there?"
 
---
 
>You all step back in surprise.
>Rarity gently tugs your arm, "Did that thing just... talk?"
>The little white object faces your friend and floats up to her.
>"Of cour-"
>"Twi, ah don't suppose you have any idea on what that is?" Applejack asks Twilight, "I ain't never seen anything like it before."
>Twilight adjusts her glasses and examines the strange device.
>"It looks like some kind of drone. Though I have no idea how its managing to hover like that."
>"I'm a Ghost actually, but who are yo-"
>"A-a a ghost?!" Fluttershy stutters out.
>"Amazing, it also seems responsive to outside stimuli!" squeals an excited Twilight.
>She reaches out to touch the Ghost but it moves just out her reach.
>"Hey! Come here!" Twilight says trying to grab the robot. "I have to know how you work."
>"It don't look like spooky scary ghost." Pinkie says cocking her head to side. "Though it is colored white like one!"
>Rainbow Dash facepalms, "Pinkie, its obvious he's not *that* type of ghost."
>As Twilight frantically chases the Ghost you all watch in mild amusement as she jumps up and down.
>Even though it doesn't have a face to express emotions, you're beginning to think the Ghost is getting annoyed with Twilight.
>"Could you-? Stop please?" it asks, its tone confirming your suspicion.
>A purple bubble suddenly surrounds the Ghost.
>"What- what is this?"
>"A-ha! Gotcha!" your friend cheers with her hand on the geode around her neck. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to put you back together again."
>"Please don't." it pleads. "That's not advisable for a multitude of reasons."
>With the predatory gaze Twilight's giving the thing, you're kind of feeling worried for the little guy now.
"Twilight maybe you should just let it go..."
>"But Sunset, aren't you curious to how this drone works?"
>"Can you stop calling me a drone?" the Ghost. "And can you let me out!"
>You would be lying if you said you weren't also curious on what exactly the Ghost is. The way its reacting to your friends invasion of its personal space is almost human-like.
>Spinning around on its axis, it turns to face all of you.
>"Seriously, who are all you people?"
>"So, you're called a Ghost? Is that your brand or is that a specific unit designator?" Twilight asks. "*GASP* Are there more of you?"
>"Yes to all of that, but really, I would appreciate it if you could drop this containment field or whatever it is. I have importan-"
>Pulling out a screwdriver, Twilight gains a scary grin you've only ever seen when she gets *very* into a science project.
>"I have a couple of projects back home that would benefit from the hover and AI tech housed inside your shell."
>Rainbow leans into Applejack, "Man, Twi gets scary when she's in her science mode..."
>"Eeyup..."
>Fluttershy raises a nervous hand, "Twilight, I-I think you're scaring the poor robot."
>"But that would fall under the assumption robots can have feelings." she says. "At the very least this drone is programmed to simulate emotions like fear."
>"Wow, that... that hurt." the Ghost mutters.
>"I know it sounds like its 'scared', but in reality its probably just a mechanism to dissuade you from damaging it."
>The Ghost's eye stares at Twilight, "You're insane."
>"Oh please, as if I haven't been called that before."
>Sighing with a shake of your head, you grab Twilight's shoulder.
"Twilight I think this is getting out of-"
>A roar echoes in the night interrupting you.
>The Ghost's eye scans the sky, "What was that?"
>Applejack faces towards the water, "Sounded like it was coming from the beach!"
"You don't think..."
>As if to answer your question there's another bellowing roar.
>"The monster is back!" Rainbow shouts with determination, "Looks like it wants another beating!"
>"Monster? What are you- whooaaaaa!"
>The seven of you run in the direction of the water where you can begin to see the silhouette of the creature given life by Equestrian magic.
>The trash monster lumbers out of the water, its water-damaged and rusted body covered in a mix of seaweed and under-sea garbage.
>Only this time...
>"Did that thing... ah dunno, get bigger?" Applejack asks.
>Instead of just being a mass of random trash, now it seems to have given itself defined crab-like legs and two hulking arms made from various undersea trash and debris.
>An engine block near its back sputters to life, only to shoot out a billow of water and bloody chunks of fish.
>"Ew..."
>"Whoa, that thing got huge!"
>"It must have collected debris from under the water to give itself more mass!"
>The small robot, still in a telekinetic bubble besides Twilight, stares at the monster.
>"What is *that*?"
>Ignoring it, you look to Twilight, "Do you think we can still take it down?"
>"We have to try."
>"C'mon girls! Let's let'em have it!" Pinkie yells grabbing Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's hands.
>The rest of you nod back and hold hands.
>Once again, the Power of Friendship flows through all of you as you feel the magic changing your bodies slightly.
>"Why do I feel all tingly inside?" the robot asks as it watches you all transform.
>Ears pop up from the top of your head, your hair grows longer, and your entire outfits change.
>"Wait! What is happening? Someone tell me what is happening?!"
>The Ghost's questions falls on deaf ears as the monster takes notice of the lightshow you and your friends are causing.
>"Its looking at us... its *LOOKING* AT US!" screams the panicking small robot trapped in the bubble.
>The microwave it had as a face begins glowing, as well as the traffic lights mounted on its side.
>Red, yellow and Green lasers shoot out at you just as your own rainbow laser launches towards it.
>Like before, the two attacks collide into one another and explode on contact.
>It roars and walks onto the beach proper with its crab like legs and decides to handle you physically.
>You seven break apart as the monster swipes at you with a large metal claw.
>With her super-speed Rainbow gets into the monster's space and begins taunting it.
>"Hey! Ugly, you think you're hot stuff?" she says smacking her bottom at it, "Well prove it!"
>Provoked, the traffic lights glow brightly once again and fire one after another.
>Rainbow simply dodges each red, yellow and green colored blast as they each kick up dirt.
>Pinkie Pie giggles, "Its like a game of Red Light, Green light! Stop! Go! Stop! Go!"
>"Pinkie! Get out of the way!" Rainbow angrily shouts, picking her up and zipping off with her.
>"Ah got'em!" Applejack shouts, grabbing of one the three legs.
>With her super strength, Applejack lifts the creature trying to get it off-balance. Unfortunately, the other two legs manage to push back so she can't.
>The monster tries to grab her with its other claw but is suddenly pelted by a barrage of sugar bombs.
>In retaliation, it fires its traffic lasers at Pinkie but a large diamond barrier blocks the attack.
>"Thanks Rarity!" Pinkie says with a wave.
>Rarity replies with a confidant grin, "No problem darling."
>But despite your attacks, you know the monster looks hardly affected by anything your friends are doing.
>The only thing that's strong enough to take it out is your combined attack, but its shown that it can easily counter that.
>Memories flash of your own narrow encounter with the eye-laser earlier as you remember the sand that was turned into glass.
>You don't want to think of what would happen if any of you were hit directly.
>Fluttershy hides behind you and Twilight as you both try to find some kind of plan to take the monster out.
>"What are you three waiting for? Your friends need help!" The Ghost shouts from inside its bubble.
"My powers and Fluttershy's powers aren't really good for fighting." you answer. "All I can do is read its mind."
>"What?! That sounds incredibly helpful!"
>"Only if I'm physically touching it."
>"..."
>It stares at you.
>"Okay, yeah I can see how that might be a problem."
>Twilight begins looking worried as Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie continue fighting, "None of our attacks pack a big enough punch and the one that does is too slow without a distraction. I'm not even going to imagine what would happen if we actually miss!"
>"..."
>The Ghost's shell fidgets.
>"Let me go, I have an idea." it says.
>"What?"
>"You heard me, I think I know a way to beat it. But to do that you need to let me out."
>Twilight looks apprehensive.
"Twilight!"
>"I'm thinking!"
>Your temper begins flaring, Twilight's reluctance as your friends are in danger.
"What is there to think about?!"
>"Twilight... I think you should listen to Sunset and Mr. Ghost." Fluttershy adds, stepping out from behind you and placing both her hands on Twilight's shoulders.
>"Okay..."
>With a flick of her wrist, the purple orb drops freeing the little white robot.
>Its rear shell swivels as it faces you.
>"I'll be right back!"
"Wait wh-"
>Flying off, the Ghost zooms away until its nothing more than a little blue light in the distance.
"..."
>"I should have seen that coming..." Twilight deadpans.
>"I think it'll come back..." Fluttershy replies.
"Really?"
>She nods her head when a dust cloud covers you three.
>"Now ah ain't one to complain..." says Applejack being held in one of the monsters rust-covered metal arms. "BUT COULD SOMEONE LEND A HAND?!"
>A shimmer of white crosses across the joint of the monster severing the limb and Applejack into the sand.
>Rarity glides forward on top of a diamond barrier with her hands up in a karate like pose and two shields hovering behind.
>"I've got you dear!"
>"Thanks Rarity!" Applejack yells as she forces herself out and grabs the separated limb like a bat.
>With a smirk, she clubs the monster with its own appendage knocking bits and pieces off.
>"Hey! Y'all should really stop hitter yerself!" she taunts.
>The monster growls and fires its tri-laser once again, this time directly at the sand and kicking up a massive sand-screen.
>Covering their eyes, Applejack and Rarity are taken off-guard as it grabs its dismembered arm and throwing the cowgirl into the latter.
>"Rarity! Applejack! I got you!" Rainbow shouts.
>She runs straight at the junk monster when suddenly a small red eye glows through the cloud and turns towards her.
"Rainbow watch out!"
>"Huh?"
>With a slam of its claw like a club, Rainbow is knocked back a few yards.
>"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy cries out running towards her.
>As the dust settles, you watch in shock and amazement as it plugs the joint back in and flexes the arm like it was never damaged.
>"Oh no! It can just repair itself!" Twilight yells.
>Looming over Applejack and Rarity, the monster charges up its laser attack once again.
>At that range...
>Putting up another shield, the three beams smashes the diamond shield and pushes it with enough force to bring it down onto them.
>Rarity struggles to keep the barrier up as Applejack uses her own power to keep the barrier from crushing them into the sand.
>The two let out a scream as you can only watch helplessly in horror.
>Rage begins swelling up inside of you as you feel completely useless as your two friends suffer.
>If only you had more power like at the Friendship Games to do something!
>"EVERYONE GET DOWN!" A voice yells behind you.
>Turning back, you and Twilight see the Ghost and a man standing on top of the sea-wall hefting something on his shoulder.
>He's too far to see in this darkness, but he looks big.
"What is..."
>"HEY UGLY!"
>The monster turns to face the newcomer.
>"KNOCK KNOCK!
>A large plume of smoke erupts behind the man as the projectile smashes into the monster and explodes sending it staggering back in a cloud of fire.
>As the monster roars in what you can only imagine is 'pain', multiple glowing white objects shoot out from the fire before diving straight back into the monster and detonating.
>Your jaw drops as Twilight falls onto her behind.
"W-was... was that a..."
>"A rocket launcher?!"
>Who in Celestia's name carries around a freaking rocket launcher!?
>Flaming pieces of the junk monster fall off as it loses one arm.
>Unable to hold it together any longer Rarity passes out from the strain, causing her barrier to go down.
>With the monster too focused on other things, Applejack grabs her and scrambles out of the trench they were dug into.
>Angry, the two unbroken traffic lights charge up and fire in the direction of the stranger.
>The man simply jumps off the wall and switches out the rocket launcher for another weapon on his back before he even touches the sand.
>Bringing his new weapon up, there's a burst of gunfire as sparks fly off the junk creature.
>The glass coverings of the embedded traffic lights break open leaving the monster's main form of attack useless.
>Pinkie, Fluttershy and a dazed Rainbow Dash soon join up with the rest of you as you all watch this stranger take down the monster you were all having difficulty with.
>"Who the heck is this guy?" Rainbow Dash asks, massaging a large bump on her forehead.
>"And why does he have a gun and a rocket launcher?!"
>All questions you would love to know honestly.
>"Ah don't know but ah ain't complaining!"
>To your surprise though, despite having a gun, the man decides to charge straight at the giant standing twice as tall as him.
>With sudden jolt of speed, the man shoots forward and slams into the torso like a football player and staggering the monster.
>Pulling his fist back, sparks emanates go off as he plunges his fist into the 'gut' and using the momentum to knock the creature onto its back.
>"Whoa..."
>"Ah'll say..."
>Standing atop of his fallen opponent, a countless number of rounds from his rifle fire into the hole just created before he jumps off and hovers into the air.
>Is he flying?
>No wait... what is he doing no-
>Sliding his weapon onto his back, his arms begin surging with electric currents and give off a bright blue-white glow.
>Electricity surrounds his body and the glow of his arms is almost blinding as hoists them over his head and dives down directly on top of the beast.
>A massive shockwave knocks you and your friends off your feet as a massive cloud of sand is thrown from the point of impact.
>When the dust eventually dies down, you rub the sand out of your eyes to see the man standing unharmed in the center of a giant black impact crater with only bits and pieces of the monster leftover.
>Rolling his shoulder, the Ghost appears in a flash of light right in front of him.
>"I think that was a bit overkill don't you think?" you can hear the Ghost complain.
>The stranger stops and shrugs judging from the way his shoulders move.
>Kneeling down, the man picks up a chunk of the junk monster and looks underneath before setting it down and looking under another pile.
>Seeing nothing, he scratches his head.
>You and the girls look at each other nervously, except Rainbow Dash of course.
>"That. Was. AWESOME!" Rainbow Dash yells out loud enough to get the man's attention.
>He turns towards you before looking at his floating companion.
>Walking towards you and your friends, you're all left speechless when you finally get a better look at who it is.
>"Hey, you didn't happen to see any engrams fly out of that thing? Preferably any purple or gold colored?"
>"Just because you killed it doesn't mean everything will drop an engram." Ghost says in an exasperated manner, as if it has had this discussion with the person many times before.
>"But that thing was pretty big. It *had* to have something good on it."
>"You'll probably just end up scrapping it anyway..." the robot mumbles.
>None of you answer the man's question. Instead you all just look at him wide-eyed and tight-lipped.
>"It looks like they've seen a ghost. Well, besides you I mean."
>The Ghost groans.
>You manage to point a shaky finger.
"Y-you... how...?"
>"Excuse me? Hey wait, aren't you...?"
>Things suddenly start getting very blurry.
>"Sunset?"
>"Sunset!"
>Maybe its the stress of the fight getting to you, or maybe you got injured somehow and you just didn't realize it until the adrenaline cooled off...
>Or heck, maybe its the fact that the guy you just recently killed is walking and talking like nothing happened.
>Whichever one, the last thing you remember is passing out.
---
 
>"Sunset? Sunset!"
>The one with the glasses frantically shakes her unconscious friend in an attempt to wake her up.
>"Easy there Twilight. Yer gonna shake her apart like that."
>Ghost hovers above your shoulder, "Is... is she okay?"
"Looks like she just passed out." you answer him. "Doesn't seem like anything too serious."
>Suddenly, you feel a strange feeling of someone watching you.
>Turning your head, you see the girl with rainbow colored hair next to you with barely contained excitement.
>While the fact she's all giddy is kind of funny, and maybe a bit cute, she's leaning up pretty close to you.
"Uh... hi?"
>"That was totally awesome!" she shouts, "The way you pulled out that rocket launcher!"
"Yeah I-"
>"And when you punched that thing! So cool!"
>The girl punches the air and makes fake gun noises in some attempt to reenact your battle.
"Just some-"
>"And *then* all that electricity! Just what was that?!"
"..."
>You give it a few seconds before she decides to interrupt you again.
"We call that 'Fist of Havoc'."
>"So cool..."
"Yeah, it most definitely is."
>Looks like you gave her her first Fisting.
>Wait... depending on how old she is that sounds bad.
>"Now wait just a darn minute here!" the girl with the cowboy hat on her head pipes up.
>The way she speaks reminds you of the Tower's shipwright Amanda Holliday.
>Speaking of Amanda, you need to schedule a maintenance check on your jumpship. Left engine's been making a weird noise ever since your last trip to Mars.
>"Just who in tarnation are you two? Weren't you dead not too long ago? How the hay can y'all even be walking and talkin' like nothing's the matter?"
>That's a lot of questions.
>Both you and your Ghost face each other before turning back and answering.
"I'm a Guar-."
>"ITS A ZOMBIE!" the one with the pink poof hair shrieks. "Run Applejack!"
>Another girl with pink hair yelps from the back, "Z-zomb-zombie!"
>This starts a chain reaction with the other pink haired girl.
>"HE'S GOING TO EAT OUR BRAINS!"
>The cowgirl, Applejack you're assuming, just facepalms while the other two just shake their heads.
"Is she serious?"
>Ghost just looks at you quizically.
>The glasses one just frowns, "Pinkie, he's not a zombie. Right?"
>You shrug.
>Technically you are undead.
"Ehhh..."
>"Ehhh?"
"Not one of those flesh eating ones if that's what you're implying."
>"He's not denying it!" Pinkie yells.
>"That's not helping." Ghost states to you.
>"Pinkie he's obviously not a zombie." the rainbow haired girl says crossing her arms.
"Seriously though, I'm not."
>Stopping right in her tracks, Pinkie frowns, "Oh."
>That doesn't stop her from narrowing her eyes at you and pointing, "But I'm keeping an eye on *you* mister."
"You do that."
>As you get into a small stareoff with Pinkie, the girl with the long pink hair that droops over half of her face finally speaks.
>"Um... girls, do you think we need to call an ambulance? Sunset doesn't seem to be waking up."
>"Maybe we should ask Rarity, she's the expert on fainting."
>'Rarity' blushes.
>"I know I've had my own *ahem* episodes of drama, but I would hardly call myself an expert."
>"How helpful." Applejack says, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
>Shaking your head, you walk over to the girl with the glasses and kneel down next to her.
>What was her name? That other girl said it not too long ago.
>Twi-something? Twibright... Twi... Twilight! That's it.
"Step back please."
>"What are you going to do?"
"Something that's worked for me."
>Sliding Sunset's head off of her gently, she lays her in the sand.
>"Ugh, that sand will take forever to get out." Rarity mutters under her breath.
>Applejack nudges her in the side.
>Rolling your neck, the curious girls make a semi-cirlce around you two.
"Could I get some light?"
>"Sure." your Ghost responds.
>His single eye brightens as a cone of light illuminates the area.
>With better light, on closer inspection you realize these girls are actually pretty young.
>Far younger than you initially guessed when you saw them fighting that weird... thing. But much more seriously, far too young to be outside the City walls for just a simple swim at the beach.
>"So what do you think he's doi-"
"HEY! WAKE UP!" you shout without warning. "STOP SLEEEEEPING!"
>You gently slap the girls face with the non-armored part of your hand.
>Each one of the girls surrounding you are taken aback as you slap their friend.
>"H-hey! Stop that this instant you brute!"
"Trust me, this is tame to how my fireteam wakes me up."
>Tucking in your center finger with a thumb you put a small charge of Arc energy, just enough for a small harmless shock, into the tip and flick her on the head.
>The sudden shock of electric energy causes her eyes shoot open.
>"BWAH! Wh-whats going on! Whossit?!"
>"Sunset! You're okay!"
>"Yeah, I- why does my face hurt?" she asks rubbing her slightly red cheeks.
"You're welcome."
>She turns to you and her expression instantly shifts to fear.
>"Y-you!"
"Me!"
>"You're supposed to be dead!"
"Where I'm from, death is just an inconvenient state of mind."
>Joking aside, the way she looks at you, you can tell she's genuinely fearful and confused at your presence.
>Maybe you should dial it back a notch. Or at least ease the tension.
"Relax, I'm not gonna do anything for you hitting me with a car."
>Yet.
>She flinches at the mention of your most recent demise.
"Don't worry, I will forgive. But I will *NEVER* forget."
>You add emphasis to the 'never' part just because you can.
"Because what you did didn't hurt me physically... well okay yeah it did, it hurt a lot; but what I mean is is that you hurt me inside here." you say pointing to where your heart is.
>Suddenly you bury your helmeted face in your hands and start sniffling.
>"Sure we just met, but I thought we had something special Sunset!"
>"How... how did you know my name?"
>Ceasing the fake tears, you look at her directly.
"Your friends."
>"O-oh..."
>Ghost clears his... throat? "I know you're having fun and all, but shouldn't we be focused on more important matters?"
"Right! Priorities! Thanks for reminding me."
>"Its good to see you're take this seri-"
"So going back to more serious matters, what exactly was that thing I just killed and why didn't I get any loot, or at least any glimmer?"
>"Are you still on that?!"
"Shush! This is important!"
>Glasses girl speaks up this time, "It would be nice to know who exactly you are, and more importantly how you're alive! And who's going to fix my car!"
"I already did. Well tried before I was *rudely* interrupted. I told you I'm a Guardian."
>"But that doesn-"
"Look, I answered you, you need to answer me little girl. Time is short. And don't think about lying."
>"I still have mo-"
"You're really gonna argue with a guy with a rocket launcher?"
>Ghost groans, "Its better to just play along, it'll move things along quicker."
>She relents, figuring she's not going to get anything more out of you and looks to each of her friends who each seem just as unsure.
"Trust me, nothing you say could possibly surprise me."
>"Well... would you believe me if I said that it was created with ambient, untamed magic let loose upon the world?"
"..."
>"..."
"Yes. I totally would."
>"W-wait... really?"
"Sure, weirder things have happened to Ghost and I."
>"Not to say *much* weirder. Though what was that strange energy you were making?"
"I was kind of curious about that as well. It was a pretty light show to say the least."
>"Its kind of a long story." Sunset says. "But to put it simply, it was the magic of our friendship that allowed us to harness that power."
>Looking around the dark and empty beach you teeter on your heels.
>That sounds like a load of bullcrap.
>But honestly? Who are you to judge? You come from a place where people worship a giant god-like sleeping white marble in the sky and sentient machines worship its abstract antithesis.
>Speaking of giant white marble...
"Ghost, could you get a line to the Vanguard?"
>Your companion just hovers there, "I've been trying for the past few minutes since the fight ended."
"And nothing?"
>"Nothing but static."
"Did Cayde fry the comm systems again? Or is something interfering or jamming us?"
>"Not that I can tell. Its like there's nothing on the frequency at all."
"Try the others."
>"I have, that's the thing." he replies. "I can't even establish a link to our jumpship."
>So for all intents and purposes, you're cut off from the City and the Vanguard as well as your ship.
>"Wait... did you say jumpship?" the girl with the glasses asks. "Is that some kind of spaceship?"
"Yeah? Why?"
>She gasps and her eyes seem to sparkle.
>"Are you an alien!? Ohmygosh is this first contact with another species? Can you understand u- oh wait of course he ca- WAIT! How can he understand us and speak our language if he's from another planet..."
>As the girl starts pacing around talking to herself, Ghost floats behind you in a slightly uneasy manner.
"Ghost? What is she on about?"
>"They're not familar with Ghosts or Guardians. She thinks I'm some kind of advanced drone."
"Huh..."
 
>"Oh man. The girls and Twilight must be fighting off that weird thing again. Man this night could not get any worse."
>Timber Spruce huddles in the life-guard tower underneath a desk with shovel in hand.
>"You were finally gonna put the moves on Twilight then all of a sudden that monster started attacking. Then to make matters worse, any attempts at having some alone time with her, you kept on getting cockblocked by her friends.
>The boy peeks over the desk and sees three lasers shoot up into the air, making him duck back down.
>"And just only recently, you have to help your girlfriend bury a dead body." he grumbles. "Sometimes I think I was better off in the forest like my sister."
>A few minutes go by and the sounds seem to have stopped.
>"Seems like they stopped fight- Timber, you're talking to yourself again..."
>Getting out from under the table, the young man cautiously exits the tower and walks down the stairs when a noise from underneath the pier just a few yards away startles him.
>Nervously, Timber raises the shovel and chooses to investigate the noise.
>For all he knows, maybe one of the girls got injured as is laying there waiting for him to come to their rescue!
>"Twilight? Is that you?"
>There's no response, but because its so dark, its hard to tell if anyone is actually down here. For all he knows it might just be a stray.
>Either way, but this is really starting to make him uneasy.
>But... if it actually is something, he could say he fought it off to Twilight and make him look even cooler in her eyes.
>Maybe get a "battle scar".
>He chuckles to himself as he moves deeper in.
>Timber looks around the dank, wet underside of pier and scratches his head.
>Nothing seems to be here.
>Maybe it was just his imagination?
>As he decides to leave, Timber notices a slight shimmer of movement in the corner of his eye.
>"Hello?"
>Again, no response.
>Against his better judgement, Timber moves further in to investigate when he hears something reminiscent of someone breathing right behind him.
>Turning around, he doesn't see anything, but something seems... off. Like his sight is somewhat distorted when he looks beyond.
>"Man, maybe my sights starting to go like Twi's... I should really convince her to start wearing contacts."
>Reaching forward, Timber's hand brushes against something cold and hard.
>Jumping back, he trips on a some washed up seaweed and falls onto his rear.
>"Ack!"
>Rubbing his behind, he looks up to see some kind of creature materializing right in front of him.
>"What the...?"
>Black armor, four glowering hate-filled red eyes, four spindly arms, and two giant horns on its head.
>Whatever it is, it looks like some kind of demon straight from Hell!
>In two of its four hands are are to long serrated blades that suddenly glow with visible currents of electricity.
>It seems to shout something at him though it mostly just sounds like some strange barking.
>But whatever it said, it clearly was not friendly in any way.
>"Oh shit!"
>Timber reaches for the shovel just a few inches away and tries to pathetically swing at the demon.
>Disarmed and vulnerable, the demon seems to let out a guttural laugh at his attempt to defend himself.
>Unfortunately, with one swift swing of its own weapons, Timber's shovel is sliced into three separate pieces.
>"O Dres..." it growls.
>Stomping towards him slowly, Timber crawls backwards only to hit one of the pier's wooden support beams.
>All Timber can do is scream.
 
---